“Kay’s right. This dog really likes you,” Rutledge commented, standing back up. “How do you like him, Diane?”
“Cold, I can take in small doses. Dino the dog, on the other hand, is still on probation. He wanted to rip my throat out at the center.”
“Dino just needed to get to know you, Boss. I guess we better get this moving-in thing done while there’s still plenty of light for them to see us get settled. We can take up the uncalled for ragging later. Thanks for the quick training session on the sound equipment, Tom.”
“Not a problem. I needed to go over the stuff with Kay anyhow. Now you both are up to speed. All either of you need now is practice. It takes some getting used to. Don’t forget the recorder is voice activated so when you hear something glance over and make sure your screen shows recognition.”
“I won’t forget. It will all be relayed to you guys here, right?”
“It will but as in all things of this nature we want to make sure we have more than one recording. We’ll have Kay going over everything taped here separately. We’ll then compare your translations.”
“Sounds good. Are you driving, Boss?”
“Yes, I want your hands free to grab Dino in case he takes a liking to the back of my neck.”
McDaniels knelt down next to the dog, placing his hands gently over the dog’s ears as he held the terrorist folder under one arm. “Don’t pay any attention Dino, the Boss is a little testy today.”
“Get in, Mr. Mountain, before I leave you and Rin Tin Tin here.” Reskova climbed up into the driver’s seat as the others laughed.
* * *
Reskova and McDaniels exited the clothing store. McDaniels was now dressed in a three-piece suit holding his other purchases in a clothing bag. Reskova had decided it would be better for him to look as different from his Cold Mountain pictures as he could because of the notoriety he had drawn. At the clothing store, McDaniels had ignored each of her suggestions, picking out a black pin-stripped suit with matching vest and charcoal gray shirt with black tie. He also picked out two pairs of black dress shoes. Reskova had needled him by reminding McDaniels the purpose for the suit was to look like a casual businessman not Will Smith in Men in Black. After they tailored the suit while McDaniels and Reskova waited, McDaniels changed into the outfit. Reskova had been shocked at the change in his appearance. McDaniels had ordered three more suits in the same dark conservative vein before indicating to Reskova he was done shopping.
“Wow, Cold, you’re a regular clotheshorse.” Reskova nudged him as they walked out to the SUV where Dino waited patiently on the front seat, much to Reskova’s dismay.
“It would be just as suspicious for me to wear the same suit everyday as it would to walk around in the same outfit I ended up on the news with. This will be dicey as it is. As long as I look way different than my alter ego, the infamous Cold Mountain, I’ve succeeded.”
McDaniels snapped his fingers and Dino hopped onto the backseat.
“Your alter ego? At least you didn’t buy a trench coat.”
“I didn’t see one I liked,” McDaniels reached back to stroke Dino’s head. “I like the Humphrey Bogart look. I should have bought a hat too.”
“All kidding aside, you look way too dangerous as it is. A hat and trench coat would blow our cover faster than you getting out of the SUV with Hughes’ head under your arm.”
“Maybe I was a bad choice for this gig. Those folks cornering me at the airport were a real wakeup call or should have been. If complete strangers recognize me what’re the chances the Mercados and their houseguests won’t make me the first time they lay eyes on me?”
“That suit,” Reskova answered confidently. “I wouldn’t have recognized you if I had seen you on the street. Besides, I may need a cold blooded psycho at a moment’s notice if that mutt you insisted should ride up here does sense something wrong.”
“Gee thanks, Boss. The mutt’s name is Dino. How good is your Russian? I thought it might be a good idea to speak Russian the whole time we’re in public.”
Reskova glanced at McDaniels with genuine interest. “That’s a hell of an idea. It may cause them to look at us a little closer, but this being the Washington area they might think we’re some kind of diplomatic team or lobbying interest.”
“So, how bad is your Russian?” McDaniels asked in Russian.
“I am good enough to get by in public,” Reskova answered haltingly in the same language. “We had better converse in Russian from now on. I will improve.”
“You had better since three of the terrorists are Chechen.
“I’m passable in French. How about you?”
“I am more than passable in French,” McDaniels replied in French.
“I might have known. We should speak French then. After all, France is almost a terrorist country. We’d be like their brothers-in-arms.”
McDaniels laughed. “That was funny, Boss, but I think we’d better stick with Russian. We don’t look French.”
Chapter 13
Undercover
Reskova tiptoed into the room knowing McDaniels had decided to practice with the sound equipment rather than simply tape what conversations were taking place across the street. They had arrived and moved in without incident. Reskova had even waved to a woman watching their progress. The woman, who looked Slavic, gave her a little wave in return before retreating into the Mercado house. Dino had acted the part of a regular dog, watering every bush in sight on the front lawn while McDaniels carried in their baggage. She saw McDaniels sitting in the lounge chair with his feet up and the headphones on. His eyes were shut. She could see the look of concentration on his face while he turned the knobs on the amplifier next to him. She smiled, anticipating him jumping right out of his clothes when she touched his shoulder. As she stepped into the room Dino slunk out from under the equipment desk a low growl emanating from his throat.
“It’s okay, Dino, I knew she was sneaking up on me.” McDaniels patted the dog’s head.
“How the hell would you have known I was coming into the room with those earmuffs on?”
“I sensed your aura,” McDaniels straightened in the chair with Dino taking up a protective stance next to him.
“Bullshit!” Reskova scoffed. “If not for that damned dog I would have Ninja’d you but good.”
“Ninja’d? It’s not that you don’t have skills, Boss, but I’ve been doing this stuff for a long time. I don’t like the thought of you pulling this childish payback stuff though. Remember, I was trying to get your team to pay attention out in the woods.”
“Oh, so you can dish it out but you can’t take it, huh, Cold?”
“Not at all,” McDaniels replied, putting aside the headphones and standing up. “If you want to play the game, I’ll play.”
“Okay, okay.” Reskova backed away with her hands up. “I see where this is going. You’ll use my one innocent little joke to wage a full scale attack on me at highly inopportune times.”
McDaniels grinned. “Oh, it’s a little joke when you do it but a full scale war if I do it.”
“Never mind, Mr. Mountain.” Reskova pointed at Dino. “When do you plan on telling this mutt who’s in charge here. He growls every time he sees me.”
“Dino needs a walk. C’mon, we’ll do a few blocks with him while we circle around the Mercado house. He’ll get to see how loveable you are.”
“Very funny.” Reskova looked suspiciously at Dino as he sat next to McDaniels. “We can continue our Russian while we’re out. Maybe one of them will hear us.”
“Sounds good.” McDaniels picked up the leash near the chair and fastening it to Dino’s collar. “Your Russian improved greatly just since we’ve been talking. Does it seem more natural to you now?”
“I still sound rusty compared with you. Am I carrying on the conversations smoothly enough to fool them?”
“You speak well enough to be interviewed by Pravda, Comrade Reskova. Is that not so, Dino?”
The dog barked
in reply while Reskova shook her head. “I suppose you’re teaching the dog Russian too.”
“Just a few commands. Did you get a chance to read over the notebook of commands?”
“No, did you?”
“Of course. We are depending on Dino to help us on a possibly world shaking mission. You have become negligent in your duties. I am shocked, comrade.”
“Don’t take that tone with me. You’re the dog trainer, Comrade Cold.” Reskova continued the conversation in Russian.
“And if something happens to me? What then?”
“Okay, I’ll study them tonight when we get back. Let me take the mongrel’s leash.”
McDaniels knelt down and held Dino’s head in his hands. “You be good for Comrade Reskova, Dino. She will be taking your leash while we go for a walk.”
As soon as Dino heard the word walk he began dancing and hopping around McDaniels with fervor. He quieted noticeably when McDaniels handed the leash to Reskova. Dino sat down on the carpet and stared up at Reskova distrustfully. Reskova tugged gently on the leash.
“Come, dog!” Reskova ordered.
Dino did not budge. He flopped down with his head on his front paws.
“Why you…”
“Tell him about the walk, genius,” McDaniels whispered as if trying to keep Dino out of the loop.
“What the hell are you whispering for? The only thing this dog hears is blah, blah, blah, Dino. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, walk.”
Hearing the word walk Dino jumped up and headed for the door pulling a surprised Reskova along for the ride.
“I said to walk him, Boss, not let him walk you. I taught him heel in Russian already. Try it.”
“Heel, Dino!” Reskova barked out in Russian. Dino came to a sitting position next to her leg. “Not bad, Comrade Cold.”
“Maybe you would like a loudspeaker for my world renown nickname to be heard all over the state, Diane,” McDaniels admonished in a hushed voice.
Reskova nodded, mouthing the word sorry in the darkness. She called out walk in Russian. Dino stood up, waiting for Reskova to begin walking so he could match her stride. She patted him on the head saying good dog at McDaniels’ urging. As they walked along in the coolness of an early Washington D.C. autumn evening, Reskova critiqued McDaniels’ appearance approvingly.
“You really look distinguished in those suits, Jer,” Reskova told him in Russian, using a shortening of McDaniels’ first name they had agreed on.
“Thanks,” McDaniels replied in Russian. “You wear dresses very well. I have noticed a softness in your style whenever you wear a dress I do not see reflected in your other outfits. Your heels are probably not very comfortable walking around on the sidewalk although they accent your dress nicely.”
“It’s a little cool out here without a jacket.” Reskova glanced down self-consciously at her dark blue, sleeveless dress, a little surprised at McDaniels’ complimentary reply.
McDaniels took off his suit-coat and put it around her shoulders.
“Aren’t you cold?” Reskova asked as Dino stopped to water a bush halfway down the street.
“I have a long sleeve shirt and vest. You look too good to cover you up with that big jacket but I don’t want you to be cold either.”
“You aren’t trying to seduce me, are you?” Reskova asked, posing a little while she clutched his jacket around her.
“Because I loaned you my jacket? Besides, I know better.”
“What do you mean you know better?” Reskova asked, reminding Dino to heel as he pulled her away from the bush. “You don’t know me.”
“Meaning it would be okay for me to seduce you?”
“No… I…I mean…” Reskova answered hesitantly before realizing the word trap McDaniels had sprung on her. “You’re playing with words.”
“Then I assumed the right stance. Are you trying to seduce me?”
“What, because I wore a dress? I was trying to get into character.”
“Okay then.”
“Do you get hit on all the time? You have that soldier of fortune dangerous look women are attracted to.”
“It happens. I doubt I get as many interested glances as you do though. Should I resent the soldier of fortune remark?”
“Just stating the obvious,” Reskova replied, surprised at how easily a conversation about seduction flowed between them, even in Russian. “What would you do if I did try and seduce you?”
“I would have to remind you of our rather awkward working relationship and the fact you think I’m a cold blooded psycho.”
“Did I say cold blooded?” Reskova asked innocently. “You’re avoiding the question.”
“No, I’m trying to act like I’m not at a high school dance flirting with my date.”
For a time they walked in silence, making their way around the block from the Mercado house. They could tell little from the street behind the house. In this more upscale neighborhood the houses, land, and fences, obscured the view of houses parallel to them on the street they shared a boundary with.
“What kind of approach do we make with the devil dog here?” Reskova inquired.
“Let’s just nonchalantly walk by the front of their house before crossing to our side. With all the pictures we have of the place, I doubt we’d need much recon of the front. If Dino goes nuts in front of their house we need to hit them quick. No sense in allowing them to move the stuff. He may not be able to pick up anything from out here anyway. I want to see if anyone takes note of us and if they do what their reaction is.”
“If Dino runs into one of them outside can he detect explosive residue on a person?”
“You know more than I do about his capabilities. I imagine he can.”
McDaniels changed the subject. “Do you have someone close you care about?”
“My Mom and Dad are still alive and I have a married sister. All of them live in New Jersey.”
“You know what I mean. How come you aren’t married? You’re old enough to have your Mommy alarm ringing loudly.”
“I thought forty was the age for this idea of an inner clock chiming for children in a woman.”
“Exactly.”
“Why you…” Reskova blustered a bit but saw McDaniels chuckling at his age dig. “I told you I’m only thirty-three. I guess you’d require a younger model though if you wish to be seduced, huh?”
“Not seasoned enough for my taste. Besides, the older ones are so… grateful.”
“Oh you are one annoying… hey, there is someone outside,” Reskova said, looking down the street.
“I see him. Let me take Dino now. I will say hello in accented English and then we’ll cross the street speaking Russian. Just follow my conversation lead.”
Reskova nodded, switching places with McDaniels as they drew near to the house. A man leaned against a vehicle parked in the driveway, smoking a cigarette. McDaniels nodded at the man while keeping Dino tight to his side, waiting for an indication the dog sensed anything. When Dino ignored the man, McDaniels said hello in heavily accented English. The man gave him a little wave. McDaniels started crossing the street, turning to Reskova.
“Have we unpacked my files yet?” McDaniels asked in Russian.
“No, my love, I have not found them yet.”
“We must find them this evening or I will be in trouble when I meet with the board of directors tomorrow. They will not be accepting of excuses.”
“Tell them we have just moved in,” Reskova said with some irritation. “Surely they can understand that.”
“I do not wish to rely on their understanding. I like this neighborhood.”
“Perhaps we will be able to stay longer here than just a year.”
“Perhaps,” McDaniels agreed, unlocking their front door and allowing Reskova to enter before him.
Inside the house, McDaniels unleashed Dino and threw away the waste bag he had carried along for the dog. Without saying anything else to Reskova, McDaniels hurried into the room where their sound e
quipment was set up. Dino followed on his heels curiously. McDaniels put on the headphones and sat down, listening intently. Reskova sat next to him on a chair in front of their equipment table after draping the borrowed suit-coat over it. A smile appeared on McDaniels’ mouth. He looked up at her and nodded.
“He went right in and gave his little playmates the news. They think because Russia played footsies with Saddam before the Iraq war we’re probably okay. One of the Chechen women just offered to check out our language usage. She doesn’t like it.”
“What’s not to like?”
“She thinks it’s too coincidental.” McDaniels took off the headphones. “She’s the only one. Expect to get a visit tomorrow while I am supposedly at my meeting. You’ll need to watch them and see if they send someone to follow me. Can we set up a fake meeting somewhere believable?”
“I’ll get on it.” Reskova picked up her cell phone and left the room.
McDaniels watched Reskova walk out and then patted Dino’s head. “We need to find a way for you to recon the target house. If the stuff is sealed I don’t know whether you’ll be able to sniff it out or not. I…”
“Let me know if he answers you,” Reskova said, striding back into the room. She handed McDaniels a card with an address written on the back. “Here’s the address and the office number. Tom will have the meeting set up at the proper time. Our people will be there. It’s a legitimate law office we have a high up friend at.”
“I don’t play these games very well, Boss. I could…”
“You could nothing, Cold,” Reskova cut him off sharply. “No severed heads, no botched recons, we do this by the rules.”
“I won’t let them blow up a school. We can dance around with bomb sniffing dogs, surveillance equipment, and suave secret agent ploys, but the bottom line - I ain’t letting them bomb a bunch of kids while we play house.”
Reskova saw the thin scar running up McDaniels’ face whiten as his voice became more strident. “Your scar’s glowing, Cold. Calm down. We’ll get these people.”
McDaniels unconsciously brushed his hand up over his face. “It lights up when I start thinking about murderous human animals like that bunch across the street.”
Monster Page 13